Ford Motor Co., the second-largest U.S. automaker, will cut North American production by 21 percent in the fourth quarter and 11 percent in the current quarter. Ford is paring production by 168,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter to 625,000 cars and trucks, it said in a statement. It will make 650,000 vehicles this quarter, down from 728,000 a year ago and a previously announced plan of 670,000. ``It's a function of their sales and market-share slide,'' said Erich Merkle, an auto analyst at consulting firm IRN Inc. in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Ford reported a sales decline of 9.8 percent in its North American brands this year through July and 9.7 percent overall. The Dearborn, Michigan-based company hasn't had a gain in its U.S. market share since 1995. Shares of Ford fell 22 cents to $7.95 at 9:39 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. ... http://www.bloomberg.com

At least 18 million people have been affected by China's worst drought in 50 years, according to the state news agency Xinhua. The south-western region of Chongqing has been worst hit, but areas of Sichuan and Liaoning are also affected. In Chongqing there has been no rain for more than 70 days, and two-thirds of the rivers have dried up, Xinhua said. Residents in some mountain villages are having to walk up to 2km (1.25 miles) to get water. At least one person is said to have died from heatstroke, and Xinhua estimates the drought has caused economic losses of 11.74bn yuan ($1.24bn). The Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs said on Thursday that in 2006, China had faced its most severe natural disasters for six years....http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5261918.stm

The Iraqi government announced a two-day vehicle ban in parts of Baghdad starting on Friday night as thousands of Shi'ites converged on the capital to mark the martyrdom of a revered 8th century Imam. Some 1,000 Shi'ites were killed in a stampede during last year's ceremony after a crowd of faithful converging on the northern Kadhimiya district was panicked by rumors of a suicide bomber.It was the highest daily death toll since the end of the U.S.-led war in 2003 to oust Saddam Hussein....http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060818/ts_nm/iraq_baghdad_curfew_dc

Unidentified gunmen attacked Friday a convoy of civilian trucks, killing one guard, as a cache of arms was seized in a Baghdad mosque, officials said. Security forces detained 77 people across Iraq in a crackdown on sectarian and political extremists. The convoy carrying unspecified goods had just left Baghdad for the northern city of Irbil when it came under attack in Taji, 12 miles north of the capital, said police Lt. Ahmed Al-Qaisi. He said one guard riding alongside in an SUV was killed and one guard was injured. Also Friday, Iraqi police found five bodies with gunshot wounds in Mahmoudiya, about 20 miles south of Baghdad, and a roadside bomb killed one person in Balad Ruz, 45 miles northeast of Baghdad. A statement by the General Command of the Armed Forces said Iraqi soldiers raided the Al-Sediq Sunni mosque in Baghdad's Ghazaliyah ...http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/02/24/iraq/main541815.shtml?source=RSS&attr=World_541815

Aid workers need urgent access to parts of northern and eastern Sri Lanka that have been cut off by recent fighting, the UN's refugee agency has said. Thousands of people are suffering from food and water shortages because of road blocks and fierce clashes. Sri Lankan officials in Jaffna and Kilinochchi have requested that at least 5,000 tons of essential food items be sent to each area immediately. Intense fighting has been going on in northern Sri Lanka for the past week. The Sri Lankan authorities say at least 100 soldiers have died in the fighting. It is unclear how many rebels have died. 'Alarming' shortages ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5263218.stm

The Lebanese army reached the country’s southern border with Israel for the first time Friday, sending a sole jeep on patrol through this village, where Israeli forces pulled out of in 2000, ending an 18-year occupation.The army jeep, flying a large Lebanese flag and carrying just two soldiers clad in green camouflage uniforms, passed by the Fatima Gate a few yards from the border in Kfar Kila but did not stop.Villagers throwing rice and Hezbollah supporters holding banners have welcomed the country’s army to the south after a nearly 40-year absence. About 15,000 troops are eventually supposed to deploy in the region under a peace plan aimed at securing an end to more than a month of fighting between Hezbollah guerrillas and Israel, but so far the troops have deployed mostly to predominantly Christian towns including Qleia and Marjayoun....http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14404644/